Dreams of Zanarkand
by annachibi
Summary: At the point where you gain control of the Airship. Tidus wonders how to save Yuna, and Auron shows him a Jecht Sphere he'd been keeping. Generally just Tidus's thoughts up to this point in the game.


Author's Note: Bladda bladda, I don't own FF, bladda bladda. This takes place whenever it is that you gain control of the airship and get to go where you want. If you haven't gotten to that point, I don't suggest reading, because there are BIG spoilers and it might be confusing. Yep, so that's it. There's another note at the end. ^_~  
--Anna Chibi  
  
_"**Dreams of Zanarkand**"_  
  
Tidus sat at the campfire in the ruins of Zanarkand, stirring the smoldering ashes of the fire from the night before. In the charred wood, he could almost see the weeks he'd gone through since he came to Spira. Now he knew that he was actually a dream, created from the memories of the Fayth and their yearning for the ancient Zanarkand. How he had gotten here, no one knew... except for Sin.  
"My old man," Tidus whispered to himself.  
Yes, he now knew the truth about the connection between his father and the evil Sin. His instincts had been right. But the question always lingered: How? How had his dad become Sin? How had he materialized from a dream? How would he defeat Sin and bring peace to Spira?  
"Come on, Tidus! We're all getting back on the airship now!" Rikku called. She ran up to him, scrambling over piles of rubble and debris. As usual, she had a big grin on her face. Putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward, she asked, "What'cha thinkin' about?"  
"Zanarkand," Tidus replied bluntly.  
Rikku's smile disappeared at his homesick tone of voice, replaced with a look of concern and anticipation. She squatted down next to him with her hands folded on her knees. Staring off into the distance, she asked quietly, "Thought of anything yet?"  
"About how to save Yuna?" Tidus asked.  
Rikku nodded.  
"Nope... Nothing."  
There were a few moments of reflective silence, then Rikku sighed and said, "Yunie shouldn't have to die, ya know? The stupid teachings of Yevon just don't make sense! I've never understood why the Summoners have to sacrifice themselves, just to bring a few years of peace to Spira. None of the Al Bhed understand it, either. That's why we tried to save them by stopping their pilgrimage... That's why we're outcast the way we are..."  
"I don't think the people who follow Yevon even understand it. They just need something, anything, to give them hope."  
More silence followed this.  
"Well, you better hurry up out here, Tidus." Rikku told him, standing up and walking back towards the airship. "My dad will get impatient and take off without you if you take too long!"  
Tidus half-smiled. "Yep, I bet Cid would do that."  
He stood up and studied the rusted piece of metal he'd been using to poke at the ashes with, then looked up at the ruins around him. On the horizon, the buildings seemed to sparkle with an orange glow, as if they were longing for the sun to make them into the glorious city they'd once been. Zanarkand had once been a huge megalopolis, built with miles and miles of roads that spiraled throughout the city. That day at the Blitzball tournament when Sin had come and Auron had lifted him into the light... was that the day Zanarkand had been destroyed? If he had stayed there, would he just have died with the rest of the city's people? There had been no warning at all. It didn't seem fair.  
Yuna wanted to stop those kinds of situations. If she could summon the Final Aeon, there would be a Calm for a few years, but she would be killed in the process. And then Sin would just come back after the Calm. Yuna thought it was worth it. Tidus had thought so, too... before he'd been told the truth about a Summoner's pilgrimage. There wasn't anything he could do to save Yuna.  
"A Guardian's job is to protect their Summoner, right??" Tidus shouted. "So why can't I protect her when she needs it most?! Why can't I save Yuna?!!"  
Suddenly, Tidus cried out in anger and frustration, flinging the metal from his grip and out across the lonely ruins of Zanarkand. A sharp pain tore from the palm of his hand, causing him to wince and clutch his hand. He looked down and a trail of crimson blood across his palm met his gaze. Biting his tongue, he stuck his hand into his pocket and ran off toward the airship.  
  
After he got on the airship, Tidus went to his little room and did what he could to clean and bandage his wound. A knock sounded abruptly on his door, and Auron came in.  
"Mind if we have a talk?"  
Tidus flopped down the bed. "Fine by me. What about?"  
Auron closed the door and sat down in a chair next to Tidus's dresser and the door.  
"About you," he said, his voice not seeming as cold and harsh as usual. "You've been very distant lately. The others are beginning to wonder if you're all right."  
The blonde Blitzball player fell back on the bed with his arms folded underneath his head. "Nah, I'm fine. Tell them they don't have to worry."  
"Hmph," Auron grunted, "Doesn't sound very convincing."  
"Look, I'm fine, okay?!" Tidus shouted back, still lying on the bed, eyes staring at the ceiling.  
"I thought maybe you were a little homesick. Those ruins are a painful reminder of it."  
Tidus closed his eyes, holding back tears. He was homesick. He wanted to go home so badly, but he was always faced with the fact that he could not. Zanarkand had been destroyed a thousand years ago; he was only the manifestation of a dream.  
He said quietly to Auron, eyes still closed, "I often wondered why it had to be me, and why it couldn't have been someone else... But then, maybe that's exactly why it had to be me. Is this -- my destiny?"  
"It's your story," Auron told him. He stood up and placed a small, blue sphere on Tidus's dresser. "I'll just leave this here for you. And be sure Yuna checks that hand for you," he said, then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.  
Tidus pulled his bandaged hand out of his pocket, glancing curiously at the door Auron had just left through. Shrugging, he got up to examine the sphere on his dresser. It looked like a regular video sphere. He brushed his fingertips over it lightly, and a glow emitted from the blue device, projecting a hologram for Tidus to view.  
  
"Hey, take a look at this, Braska!" said the voice of Jecht, Tidus's father, from behind the camera.  
Summoner Braska turned his head to look at Jecht, little Yuna sitting in his lap. "Oh, yes, that's a sphere recorder. You can bring it along, if you want to."  
"I sure will," Jecht said, "Yuna, say hello to the camera!"  
Young Yuna giggled, "Hehe, you're so funny, Sir Jecht!"  
She hopped out of her father's lap and ran up to Jecht, hugging his legs and laughing. He looked down with the sphere recorder at her and ruffled her hair with his free hand. He chuckled a little, but the sound carried a hint of sadness.  
"You remind me of my own kid, back home. Wish I'd been a little more gentle with him. He never gave me a hug."  
"Never?" Braska asked, surprised.  
"No... Of course, it was my fault. I was so hard on him."  
*****  
The scene blacked out with a mechanical sound, then turned back on again. This time, Braska was behind the sphere recorder, and the rest of them were out on the deck of a ship.  
"Show me how to play Blitzball, Sir Jecht!" came Yuna's enthusiastic little voice.  
Auron, who had been talking to Jecht, turned around and folded his arms with a grin on his face. "This, I'd like to see."  
"Hah!" said Jecht, grabbing the ball from Yuna's outstretched hands and giving it a spin on one finger. "Didn't I ever tell you I was a star player for the Zanarkand Abes?" With that, he threw the ball high up into the air, jumped and turned so he was upside-down, and kicked the ball in mid-air. Then he did a backflip and landed on the wooden deck as if nothing had happened.  
Auron, Braska, and Yuna clapped for him, their eyes wide and mouths open. Jecht gave a little bow for them, smiling broadly.  
*****  
Again, the hologram in front of Tidus went black, and then turned to another scene. It was nighttime, and the sky above the ship was lit with millions of stars. Jecht held the sphere recorder so it captured a magnificent view of the sky's reflection in the water.  
"Well, Tidus, if you're watching this, I guess this is goodbye. You're probably missing your old life now, back in Zanarkand. I know I am. Heh, Yuna asked me what Zanarkand looked like. I told her it was a big city in the sky. Kinda fits, don't ya think? A city in the sky... Well, I hope you get to see this. I know you never really liked me much, but maybe you can forgive me. I just never understood, you know? Aw, I'm no good at these things.... Just... don't forget me, Tidus. Okay? Don't forget me..."  
  
The blue sphere on Tidus's dresser turned off, making a slight whirring sound as it did so. The words of his father echoed in his mind, bringing hot tears to his eyes.  
'...don't forget me, Tidus...'  
The stinging tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision.  
"I hated you!" he shouted, banging his fist on the wall. "I hated you!! And you..."  
Realization dawned on him as the first tears overflowed and trickled down his cheek. He rested his forehead against the wall, both fists clenched.  
"You... you didn't hate me. You -- loved me..."  
He sank to his knees on the floor, his strength seeming to drain away, even his fists losing their usual tensity. He was beginning to sob now, as he'd never done in his entire life. He could never go back now. He could never tell his dad that those words were the only ones he'd ever wanted. He'd been waiting for them all his life. And now, here they were, and all he could do was cry. He wanted to go back to his old life, to show his dad he cared, to live again in Zanarkand, that city in the sky.  
  
  
Author's Note: This whole thing came to me during school after I got to the point in the game where you're about ready to go after Sin. After having realized that Tidus wasn't even real, my motive seemed to kind of trickle down the drain, and I had a lot of time to think about the game since I wasn't playing it. ^_~ So out came this! Comments or whatever are very much appreciated. If anyone has an idea I could use to continue this... that would be nice. Heheh. *sweatdrop* Otherwise, that's the end! Ta-da! ^_^ 


End file.
